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Building for success

Why it's time to adopt building information modeling

BIM FOR ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a framework for integrating technologies, processes and engineers to drive end-to-end efficiency in Engineering and Construction (E&C) operations. Often mandatory in public procurement, BIM is becoming an indispensable capability industry-wide and, increasingly, the key to driving digital transformation.

But BIM is not a solution in its own right. It’s a methodology that enables E&C businesses to keep control of increasingly complex construction projects through enhanced integration of activities at every phase.

So how can companies realize BIM’s benefits, which include up to 20 percent lower costs and 80 percent reduction in tendering time? The twin imperatives are choosing the right BIM ecosystem architecture and starting the BIM journey in the right place.

THE BIM IMPERATIVE

BIM is changing the way projects are ideated, planned, budgeted and delivered. It’s improving efficiency and effectiveness in the end-to-end project lifecycle. It’s increasing accuracy, lean integration and control in calculations, estimates, budgeting and delivery operations. And it’s enabling new levels of efficiency through the reuse of work from similar projects. Most importantly, it’s becoming an essential component of every E&C business as more and more governments around the world make BIM a mandatory part of public procurement. That’s the BIM imperative.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT BIM ECOSYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

E&C companies can choose from various BIM software solutions. The right ecosystem architecture for each business depends on two key factors:

Existing company technologies and their understanding of 2D/3D CAD and project management solutions

Business model, types of contract bid for, and types of asset built

STARTING THE BIM JOURNEY IN THE RIGHT PLACE

The right place to start will depend on the level of BIM design maturity in each company. For most businesses, this will be a "5D Design" level, integrating construction asset design, with commercial and operations planning, budgeting and production control.

BIM is becoming a must-have framework and methodology for bringing leading PLM practices to fruition. Now that the available digital technologies and solutions are mature enough to build solid and integrated BIM architectures for E&C industry companies, DOING NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION.